The Mare Nostrum doctrine: an alternate Italian Empire

Capitulum V: Sardinian Morocco

Various farmer's banks formed in the region, with many bankers coming from the Aosta region. Some of them previously had rebelled against the central Sardinian government, refusing to work with non-French individuals. The government largely ignored this question, and it paid off as the banks slowly but steadily opened their frontiers (fronteers) to Morocco.

Tangiers was the preferred sector for Sardinian colonization, while Fès-Meknès and Rabat-Salé-Kénitra were still largely under the control (controll) of Moroccan guerrilla who opposed Sardinian rule over Morocco. Tangiers become the center of Sardinian trade outside of the Mediterranean, and the most developed city in the protectorate. All cities acquired during the First Moroccan-Sardinian War (war) were handed over the protectorate government. Various Sardinian companies were invited on Morocco to develop the region, and competition was somewhat intense. Colonial progress was promoted as best as possible with Sardinian welcoming not only Sardinians in the new protectorate, but also other Italians.

It also become a site of frequent alchol consumption. After Sardinia decided to limitate the use of alchol in its country on September 04, 1837 (on September 04 1837), Morocco had become a site of Laissez-Faire (Lasse Faire) policy regarding alcohol consumption, as it was used as a method to further invite colonists in the region.

While right from the bat Sardinia welcomed various colonists in the Moroccan protectorate, it would not be until May 2, 1845 (May 02 1845) that Moroccan citizens could enter Sardinian soil freely. And, while welcoming many Italian companies in the region, it did not allow for foreign companies to enter the protectorate, in fear that the great powers could gain a monopoly of their own protectorate. Only the French were welcomed outside of their portion of the protectorate. The government had also a strong saying in the economy of the region, as it was quite interventionist (inverventionist) regarding the economy.

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

Corrections!
 
Capitulum V: Sardinian Morocco

The Sardinian Protectorate in Morocco (Italian: Protettorato Sardo del Marocco; Arabic: محمية سردينيا بالمغرب, romanized: Mahmiat Srdynya Bialmaghrib), also known as Sardinian Morocco (Italian: Marocco Sardo), was a colonial regime imposed by Sardinia in the Sherifian Empire.

Why do you use the term ''Sherifian'' to call the Alouite Dynasty?
 
Capitulum XXII: Politics in the North Italian Federation
Capitulum XXII: Politics in the North Italian Federation

The North Italian Federation was the closest thing to democracy in the Italian Peninsula. While the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Papal States attempted with all their might to eliminate all liberal elements in their society and politics, the North Italian Federation seemed to embrace them, although with some limits.

Voting Franchise on July 01 1858 become extremely wealth based, allowing for the ever growing bourguesie to match the power of the aristocracy. However there were also large problems in the colonies; for example, on March 26 1957, during the War of Italian independence, while battling British troops in Morocco, Sardinian colonial personnel disturmed an holy site. The Sardinian government, and later on the North Italian government, had still a weak controll over the far larger country. In order to maintain full controll of the region and avoid riots, the government insisted in respecting the religion of Morocco.

On November 26 1857, there were several riots in the Moroccan protectorate, but given the North Italian still fragile state, there wasn't much the colonial authorities could do. Luckly, these revolts were small and unorganized, not allowing for much aggression against the North Italian government. This was proven on March 15 1858, when the Moroccans pretended more power in the North Italian government, a proposal which was quickly turned down. In these tumultuous times, the conservative government had gained major influence in colonial affairs, especially in Morocco.

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
I wonder how their final system will look like. Will it be a senate? An Imperium with an Augustus/-a at the top? A combination? I wouldn't be surprised if Italy had the same idealisation about ancient Rome as other countries
 
I wonder how their final system will look like. Will it be a senate? An Imperium with an Augustus/-a at the top? A combination? I wouldn't be surprised if Italy had the same idealisation about ancient Rome as other countries
More like something akin of what the Italian senate was during the kingdom, combined with elements of the Senato Subalpino
 
Capitulum XXIII: Outside the North Italian Federation
Capitulum XXIII: Outside the North Italian Federation

As the North Italian Federation grew in size, eventually being considered a power capable of interfering in foreign matters and being nicknamed the "Smallest great power in the world", interactions between its neighbours and other countries become a necessity. For example, in order to seek a possible ally against the Austrians, the North Italian Federation begun several meetings with the Ottoman empire on July 15 1858, which leaded to an increase of relations between the two. In fact, they partially supported the Ottomans during their war with the British empire. However, this also caused an increase of relations with the Eyalet of Egypt, leading to several invitations by Sa'id of Egypt to Cairo to Vittorio Emanuele II. These occurred on November 20 1858, January 01 1860, May 20 1860, September 03 1860 and December 11 1860. In fact, Sa'id even allowed the Italians to excavate for Ancient Egyptian ruins and artifacts with a special law issued on January 22 1862.

But while in some cases the North Italian Federation used diplomacy towards its neighbours, knowing it was still a paper tiger rather than a great power, sometimes the North Italian Federation played aggresively. For example, on July 20 1858, when Paraguay failed to pay its debts to the Federation, Vittorio Emanuele threatened with an invasion and prepared a fleet to make sure that Paraguay would pay. Some within the North Italian government believed that this was a possibility to create a friendly state in Paraguay, perhaps even a junior kingdom under one of the integrated Duchies that made up the previous North Italian landscape, prior to the War of Independence.

1280px-The_Paraguay_Squadron.jpg

Italian fleet ready to sail to Paraguay

None the less, all efforts were so far aimed at the Mediterranean and, most importantly, the Italian peninsula. For example, during the German-Austrian war, from October 10 1858 to August 06 1862, Garibaldi set up a volunteer army in support of the North German Federation, an army which was heavily supplied by the North Italian Federation. During the battle of Dermbach, Garibaldi turned out to be instrumental for the capture of the town, thanks to his mountaineer troops.

Garibaldi_at_Dijon.jpg

Garibaldi in Dermbach

Generally speaking, despite its aggressive stance against Greece, the North Italian Federation also supported small states, such as Belgium. In fact, the North Italian Federation begun heavily trading with the newly born kingdom, with several agreements on April 29 1959 leading to the North Italian government recognizing Belgium neutrality.

While the Austrian and North Italian government continued to be bitter enemies, the North Italian Federation was no stranger to try and reconciliate with old enemies. For example, during the Spanish-Portuguese war of May 15 1859, the North Italian government allowed Spanish troops to traverse the North Italian territories and even the navy could dock in North Italian ports. This was because the war involved Britain, North Italy's competitor in the Mediterranean.

optimizegeneral

Spanish troops in North Italian Morocco

Something that occurred outside North Italy's border, but which would, even if a spall part, influence the Federation, was the birth of Socialism. On September 03 1860, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the first officially recognized socialist party, was born. A socialist party was funded also in the North Italian Federation, but its members were few and its influence little. By December 31 1860 Socialist were 0,99 %, even lower than the Anarco-Liberals composing 1,03 % of the Subalpine Senate, and considerably dwarfed by the Reactionists (11, 73%), Conservatives (45,26%) and Liberals (40,99 %).

Meanwhile, in Africa, new opportunities for expansion arised when on October 19 1860 the Majeerteen, a clan of Somali's, opened their market to foreigners. North Italy already had a strong presence in Morocco and essentially controlled the strait of Gibraltar, and considering some crazy plans of some engineers of the time regarding the Suez, the North Italian government believed that controll of the Red Sea could be achieved.

page1-463px-BoqorCismaan.pdf.jpg

Osman Mahamuud, king of the Majeerteen Sultanate

Back in the new world, the world was taken aback by the American Civil War, between the United States and the Confederate States, which begun on February 04 1861. Generally speaking the event impacted the North Italian Federation very little, but they still considered the Confederacy to be a unrecognized state, and they intended to not recognize it, seeing no gain in doing so.

Wars outside Italy that did not interest the North Italian Federation:

January 24, 1856: End of the Polish Revolution.

October 10-1858-August 06 1862: Durgan Revolt, Qing victory

October 10 1858-August 06 1862: Second Opium War between Britain/Portugal and Qing China: British/Portuguese victory

August 06 1862: Beginning of the Anglo-Baharian war

August 06 1862-November 30 1862: Dutch conquest of Indonesia

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
Capitulum XXIV: The struggle for unification and the Franco/Italian Cold War
Capitulum XXIV: The struggle for unification and the Franco/Italian Cold War

When France allied itself with the Kingdom of Sardinia to undermine Austrian presence in the Italian peninsula, it never intended for the creation of an unified Italian state. In fact, France was already wary of Sardinian and, later on, North Italian expansion in the Mediterranean. France aimed for the creation of four Italian kingdoms: the Kingdom of Northern Italy, the Kingdom of Central Italy, the Papal States and the Kingdom of Southern Italy. Sardinian colonies were to remain under the controll of the Kingdom of Northern Italy, but the French also aimed to undermine Italian position in these regions in order to them to become French.

French Plans for Italy.png

French Plans for Italy

So when the North Italian Federation begun improving relations with the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, there were already problems with the two nations. The North Italian Federation tried a peaceful mean to unite the Italian peninsula, to avoid confrontations with great powers that didn't approve the Italian unification, such as Austria, Britain and, to a degree, France.

In particular, problems arose regarding the Papal States. France had deep interests with the Papal States, with the majority of the French population being catholic and a strong believer. On top of that, the Papal States had been under the French sphere of influence for a considerable time, and many military advisors in the Holy See were, indeed, French. So the French were rather surprised that the North Italian Federation attempted to gain the side of the Pope for an unification, alongside the Two Sicilies. On December 12 1858, the French government proned the Papal States to kick North Italian delegates in order to "defend the sovereignty of the Holy See." This incident today is recalled to be the beginning of the so-called "Franco-Italian Cold War", a period of territorial and economic competition between the North Italian Federation (Later on the Kingdom of Italy) and the Kingdom of France (Later on the Second French Empire and, later on, the French Republic). Relations were made worse when it seemed like the North Italians decided to venture away from France and forge an alliance with the North German Federation, seeing the North Germans as possible allies for the complete destruction of Austria and the complete unification of the Italian people with the support of the "German Brothers".

New hostilities between France and the North Italian Federation occurred when French troops stationed in the Papal States had a minor skirmish with North Italian ones near Livorno on June 20 1859.

Things between the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the North Italian Federation were far better. On October 21 1859 Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia met with Francesco II delle Due Sicilie in Naples, for a treaty of friendship between what were essentially the two dominating powers in the Italian Peninsula. Vittorio Emanuele II promised to support any Sicilian effort in modernization. This was proven when the North Italian Federation begun the construction of its first railroads, which included both the Papal States and the Two Sicilies. Trade agreements and the construction of railroads in the Two Sicilies leaded to the formation of, on January 11 1860, of the North Italian/Sicilian alliance, a mutual agreement of defense against foreign aggression.

But thing with France didn't look good. In an attempt to expand its North African holdings, some North Italian colonial contingents attempted, on January 07 1860, to expand in Algeria, in the territories not controlled by the French. It went as well as you would expect: on March 01 1860 said colonial contingent was discovered by the French, and shortly after the French government issued an ultimatum to the North Italian Federation: they were to leave all claims on Algeria or face war. The Northern Italian Federation chose the former, not yet feeling prepared for a war against France.

On a more positive note on the North Italian side, with the rise of the North German Federation, the French did not have the power to block both the Germans and the Italians, which gave much breathing space for the North Italian Federation, which was considered the least threatening of the two. Meetings between members of the North Italian government and the ones of the Papal States and the Two Sicilies proved that unification was possible and under North Italian grasp. But, Vittorio Emanuele II and Camillo Benso di Cavour intended to slow down a bit. Sure, Italian unification could be achieved easily on a map now, but not a cultural unification. Italy had been divided for centuries, leading to all the various states to essentially be completely independent, and the accents were so thick that members of two different neighboring duchies could not understand each others.

On top of that, while the North Italian Federation was the industrial powerhouse of the Italian Peninsula, the Two Sicilies and the Papal States were still mostly rural with very few factories. It also didn't help that the Papal States were not that thrilled in losing their temporal power. So, as Alessandro Manzoni once said, "Before we can make Italy, we need to make the Italians." As such, time was needed for agreements between the Papal church and the possibly new Italian government, and both the Two Sicilies and Papal States needed to be modernize to catch up with the rest of the country.

By September 01 1861 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was far more modernized than the agricultural lackluster prior, and was somewhat on par with the North Italian Federation, and by March 15 1862 there was a final agreement between the Papal church and the North Italian government, the Law of Guarantees (Legge delle Guarentigie). In it:

-the pope's person to be sacred and inviolable;
-insult or injury to the pope to be treated on a par with insult or injury to the king's person; discussion of religious matters to be absolutely free;
-royal honours to be paid to the pope; that he have the right to the customary guards;
-as an indemnity for the loss of his domains, as an annual sum in perpetuity, the pope was voted 3,225,000 lire to cover all the needs of the Holy See (College ofm Cardinals, Roman congregations, embassies, etc.) and the maintenance of church buildings;
-the Lateran and Vatican palaces, as well as the Villa of Castel Gandolfo, to remain the property of the pope; these articles assure the pope and all engaged in the spiritual government of the Church, as well as the college of cardinals assembled in conclave, complete liberty of communication with the Catholic world, exempt them from all interference with their letters, papers, etc.;
-the clergy to have freedom of assembly;
-the government to renounce the "Apostolic Legation" in Sicily, and the right of nomination to major benefices, with reservation, however, of the royal patronage; the bishops are not obliged to take the oath (of allegiance) on appointment;
-the Exequatur to be maintained only for the major benefices (except in Rome, and in the suburbicarian sees) and for acts affecting the disposition of ecclesiastical property;
in spiritual matters no appeal to be allowed against ecclesiastical authority; the civil courts, however, to be competent to pass judgment on the juridical effects of ecclesiastical sentences. Provision to be made, by a future law, for the reorganization, conservation, and administration of all the church property in the kingdom.
-the right to active and passive legation, and immunity of envoys accredited to the Holy See within Italian territory.
-A political treaty recognising the full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established, accompanied by four annexes:
--A map of the territory of Vatican City State
--Maps of buildings with extraterritorial privilege and exemption from expropriation and taxes (owned by the Holy See but located in Italy and not forming part of Vatican City)
--Maps of buildings with exemption from expropriation and taxes (but without extraterritorial privilege)
--A financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the losses in case of Italian Unification
-A concordat regulating relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state

With the North Italian Federation becoming a constitutional monarchy on December 22 1860, Francesco II delle Due Sicilie and Pope Pius IX granted special positions in the new Italian government, a referendum was issued, which leaded, finally, on March 22 1862, to the union between the North Italian Federation, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Papal States. Finally, after almost 1300 years, Italy was united.

Italy, March 22 1862.png

Italy after its unification on March 22 1862

To celebrate this grand event, on April 01 1862 the Altare della Patria, also nicknamed "Vittoriano", was commissioned in Rome, the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy, a grand building meant to represent the struggle of Italian unification. It would be finished 50 years later, in 1912, but already in 1889 it was visible for the public. One major step for Italy had been completed. While at first there would be some issues with the southern regions of Italy, a new Italian state was finally born. But this was just step one for Italy. The peninsula was secured: the Mediterranean was the next target.

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
Capitulum XXV: Medicine in the North Italian Federation/Kingdom of Italy
Capitulum XXV: Medicine in the North Italian Federation/Kingdom of Italy

While the Kingdom of Sardinia, later on the North Italian Federation, expanded in the Mediterranean, while also becoming the closest thing to democracy in the Italian peninsula, it was true that medicine was still backward. Italy, being a region with many swamps, was plagued by various illnesses, and the North was no exception. As the North Italian Federation was still busy expanding and protecting its borders, up to this point medicine was largely ignored. But as a plague hit the island of Negroponte, it was obvious that the North Italian government could shrug the issue under the carpet like it always did. Starting from September 27 1859, a renaissance of North Italian medicine developed which would later spread to the entirety of the peninsula.

On December 03 1859 the first Italian prohylaxis for malaria was issued in the North Italian Federation. The Valle Padusa, a large swamp present in the north of Italy, while having significantly drained, was still host for many mosquitoes carrying the deadly Malaria virus. By the 1860's, the North Italian Federation was able to cure its people from the disease, and begun spreading it to the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a mean to gain the support of the two nations and its people for the future unification.

On February 01 1860 chemotherapy arrived in the North Italian Federation. Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent (which almost always involves combinations of drugs), or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms (palliative chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer, which is called medical oncology. Of course it was at its initial stages, but it could be easily admitted that the North Italian Federation was one of the first countries to find ways to battle cancer.

As the North Italian Federation often found itself at war, combat medicine become a necessity to heal injuried soldiers during combat without resulting in limb amputations.

1890s-japan-japanese-red-cross-medic-a-red-cross-medic-carries-a-wounded-soldier-of-the-japanese-imperial-army-in-korea-during-the-first-sino-japanese-war-18941895-published-in-the-french-illustrated-weekly-le-monde-illustr-in-1894-meiji-27-art-by-french-artist-georges-ferdinand-bigot-1860-1927-famous-for-his-satirical-cartoons-of-life-in-meiji-period-japan-19th-century-vintage-newspaper-illustration-W9KBWB.jpg

North Italian combat medic carrying a wounded during the North Italian-Greek War

On September 01 1861, after a period of stagnation in North Italian medicine, antibacterials and active ingredients reached North Italian hospitals and pharmacies to cure various illnesses.

All these actions allowed the North Italian Federation, and later on Italy, to further modernize itself, expand towards the interior of Africa and to prepare against any sort of illnesses that could plague Italy. This was proved by the quick response by the Italian government after the February 10 1862 cholera epidemic that struck the country.

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
Capitulum XXVI: Italian colonial atrocities in Morocco
Capitulum XXVI: Italian colonial atrocities in Morocco

One of the reasons Sardinia justified his colonial conquests, especially in Morocco, was because she intended to bring civilization in savage locations outside Europe's spheres of influence. In April 25 1860, as a matter of fact, the North Italian Federation, the descendant of the kingdom of Sardinia, wanted to show the world the splendor of the North Italian protectorate of Morocco.

But the sad truth was that there was no splendor in the administration of the protectorate. While after the third Moroccan war the North Italian Federation had eliminated a sizeable anti colonial force, vast areas of the interior were far from being under North Italian controll.

In 1862, Sultan Muhammad IV of Morocco planned to deliver a speech in Tangier to appeal for his country's independence from colonialism and for its territorial unity. In the days leading up to the sultan's speech, Italian colonial forces in Casablanca, specifically Greeks serving the Italian colonial empire, carried out a massacre of working class Moroccans. The massacre lasted for about 24 hours from 20-21 August 1863, as the Greeks fired randomly into residential buildings in working-class neighborhoods, killing 180 Moroccan civilians.

After the massacre, massive protests swatted through the entirety of Italian Morocco, which leaded to more atrocities towards the local population. On top of that, even prior to the Casablanca massacre, several ambitious and cruel Italian colonels attempted a forceful conquest of the Moroccan interior in exchange of wealth and other privileges.

All of this sat poorly with the international community, who criticized Italy poor treatment of the natives, with some books showing in details the awful conditions Moroccans were forced to live in. This was one of the first problems for the newborn Kingdom of Italy, as in that up to that point, it's small size allowed to more easily shrug the question under the rug with few powers questioning it. Now, as some nations sought a reason to diminuish Italian controll of the Mediterranean, the newborn kingdom realized that it must be more careful and, on top of that, it must stop the various atrocities against the Moroccans.

1628082738439.png

Italian soldiers showing beheaded Moroccan heads

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
Capitulum XXVII: Italian 100-ton gun
Capitulum XXVII: Italian100-ton gun

The 100-ton gun (also known as the Orlando 100-ton gun) was a 17.72 inches (450 mm) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) gun made by Gio. Ansaldo & C., owned by Luigi Orlando. The 15 guns Orlando made were used to arm two Italian battleships and Italian fortifications in the Aegean sea.

Rockbuster-front.jpg

"Spaccapietre" at Cape Araxos, Greece

Up to this point, the Italian army mostly used older artillery models for offensive and defensive capabilities. These weapon were adequate for the needs of the time, but the progress of gun technology was very rapid. French industries soon made a 420 mm, 76 tonne gun. This led the Regia Marina to ask for an 80 long ton (81 t) gun.

Orlando, the main Italian artillery producer, began a project for creation of an even larger weapon, an 18 in (460 mm) gun, also called the '100 ton'. Orlando offered it to the Regia Marina, which rejected the gun, deeming it too heavy and costly.

After the reunification of Italy, the Regia Marina began an innovative program to field the best and most powerful battleships of the time, the first being the Duilio-class, armed with 380 mm guns. They were already very powerful, but in February 1863 when the UK started to build HMS Inflexible, armed with 406 mm guns, Italian admirals called for even more powerful guns, to hold the lead in battleship design.

On 21 July 1863, Orlando begun the production of its 100-ton guns, enough to arm Duilio and her sister-ship Dandolo. During firing trials on 5 March 1870, one of Duilio's guns cracked while firing at the maximum charge. At the suggestion of the Italian Army, it was officially established that the maximum practical charge was 204 kg and not 255.

The Italian cannon shocked British authorities, who had the Malta naval base to defend. Although Malta's defenses included 320 mm guns, this left Malta poorly defended against a possible attack from Duilio-class ships. This was a worrying problem because Francesco Crispi, one of the key architects of the Italian reunification, had called Malta "Italia irredenta" ("Unredeemed Italy").

The British feared that Duilio and Dandolo, which were already well-armored, could fire on Malta's shore batteries, destroying them one after the other, while keeping outside the effective range of the batteries' guns. But the British Army's concerns had no immediate effect on London bureaucracy; until the Italians launched Duilio in May 1864, London made no decision. The Royal Navy finally responded, requesting proposals from British arms manufacturers for a gun capable of piercing 36-inch steel at 1000 yd (900 mm at 900 m). The manufacturers returned with designs for immense guns of 163, 193, and 224 tons.

In December 1864, Simmons, chief of Malta defenses, was called to London to discuss the issue. He asked for four guns comparable to Duilio's at 3,000 yards. Due to the emergency, it was decided that the fastest and simplest solution was to quit designing the bigger guns and to buy the same weapons as those on Duilio, because generally a shore battery with the same caliber guns as a vessel retains an advantage over the vessel. Four guns were requested in March 1865 and manufacture started in August; in the meantime Duilio had been conducting sea trials since 1864.

Italy was barely two years old, and already the government of London was beginning to fear the little tiger of the Mediterranean.

I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.
 
Top